The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the Centrepiece programme for its 2026 edition, with two notable South Asian films selected for the prestigious section.
Indian filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj's Dorothy will receive its World Premiere, while Nepali filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah's Elephants in the Fog will make its North American Premiere following its acclaimed debut at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
Subbaraj is one of the leading voices in contemporary Tamil cinema, known for genre-defying films such as Pizza, Jigarthanda, Iraivi, Petta and Jigarthanda DoubleX. His latest feature, Dorothy, joins TIFF after securing a World Premiere in the Centrepiece programme.
The selection of Elephants in the Fog continues an extraordinary international journey for Shah's feature debut. The Nepal-France-Germany-Brazil-Norway co-production premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize, becoming the first Nepali feature to receive an award in the section.
Set in the forested village of Thori in Nepal's southern Terai region, Elephants in the Fog follows Pirati, the matriarch of a Kinnar community who dreams of leaving with the man she loves. When one of the young women in her community disappears, she must choose between personal freedom and her responsibility to those who depend on her. The film explores themes of identity, belonging and chosen family.
Shah has steadily emerged as one of Nepal's most internationally recognised filmmakers. His short film Lori (Melancholy of My Mother's Lullabies) competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2022, where it received a Special Mention, making him the first Nepali filmmaker to be officially selected and honoured at the festival. As a screenwriter, he also penned The Black Hen and Shambhala, both of which premiered at major international festivals.
Elephants in the Fog was developed over several years through leading international film development platforms. The project was selected for the Asian Project Market at the Busan International Film Festival in 2021, won the Pop Up Film Residency Award, and later received support from the Hubert Bals Fund, Film Independent's Global Media Makers, Oxbelly Screenwriters Lab, La Fabrique Cinéma, Sundance Screenwriters Lab, Venice Gap-Financing Market and the World Cinema Fund before completing post-production.
TIFF's Centrepiece section showcases significant international cinema from around the world. This year's selection reinforces the growing presence of South Asian filmmakers at the world's leading film festivals.
